This afternoon the council will convene to discuss the final report from the Frederick County Human Trafficking Task Force. Billy has told us that there are groups for human trafficking, and we’ll just let Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo handle this one for us this time:
We’ll let you know how the discussion goes.
After last week’s complete turn about from Bud Otis, we don’t see much hope of things going well for the rest of the year. This week’s agenda sees the removal of two public hearings that were not given their time in the sun, and one for a very bad bill about MDX. It’s as though we’ve time warped back to the Young BOCC in the span of a week! We don’t have the spirit to go through the entire agenda this week, but we will call your attention to this item on the agenda (note: we are not the ones that highlighted it in yellow.):
M.C. is currently the council’s representative on Maryland Association of Counties Legislative Committee, but expect to see that change this evening. Also, we’ll see what Forest Resource Ordinance Bill gets through. Expect it to be the one more favorable to developer interests, for that is where we are now.
So, be safe, but drink whatever you need to do calm your nerves this evening.
Remember a few months back when we published this story about Bud receiving a potted plant and yellow tie from a very angry member of the public? We took offense because, at the time, we believed that Bud was simply acting in the best interests of the county. But we Yokel gals can admit when we are wrong! We may not agree with this lady on much else, but in this instance Ms. Posey, it appears you may have had a point.
It’s been no secret that we’ve been big Bud Otis fans. We sincerely believed that he was an old time Republican that didn’t subscribe to the Trumpery that Shrelauter likes to spew forth. Well, a few weeks ago we started to get suspicious that things were going to go South. We have lots of connected friends here at the Yokel, and many of those friends were telling us that Bud wants to be county executive. And, since he has his eye on that particular prize, we were going to see some changes. Changes we wouldn’t like. The first evidence of this occurred when Bud refused to explained his competing Forest Ordinance Bill. In fact, he got quite snippy with M.C. when she asked for an explanation. As we said in that post, we hoped that Bud was just having a bad night. Now, we can no longer delude ourselves into thinking that’s the case.
Here’s what happened tonight folks. On this evening’s workshop agenda was the following item:
Jessica asks Bud what this item means since the council, at least not her, M.C., and Jerry, were given any explanation on this very ambiguous item. Which we now know was purposely ambiguous because it was nothing but an organized coup!
Bud doesn’t respond but instead defers to Tony. Tony then picks up a piece of paper that appears to have been collaborated upon by the R’s on the council. In his distinct grandstanding way Tony goes on about the “far-reaching” legislation that the county executive has put forth and how he now wishes to put forth a motion to table Jan’s DRAA and school construction fee bills! We don’t think much of this motion because we are sure it will be defeated, and are only half listening really when we shockingly hear Bud’s aye. That’s right folks, Bud voted to table the bills on these two items! Even though, it’s evident to all that the policies of the Young BOCC have gotten us into a huge financial mess with all of their hand outs to developers, he voted to table! We cannot imagine there is an explanation satisfactory enough to explain why he did this! Therefore, we can only conclude that we are in for a very rough year in this county, and that Bud is only thinking of his political future. We don’t hold out much hope for Jan’s Forest Ordinance passing, and we truly question the political future of someone who is burning bridges with people on both sides of the aisle. If we agree with Mary Posey, who has had it in for us for a good spell here, that’s potentially problematic, dontchathink?
The 2018 elections cannot get here fast enough peeps!
This evening the council will convene for the first time this year! One look at this evening’s agenda and our jaws pretty much dropped down to the floor:
So, someone must have told ol’ Billy that he wasn’t going to get elected to the Maryland Senate if his record is a bunch of abstentions and one failed, horribly written bill. If he thinks he’s going to last minute a bunch of work and pretend that’s his record, he’s got another thing coming! We can just imagine the look on the other council member’s faces when they saw all this nonsense.
Also, on the agenda are two, that’s right TWO, public hearings on the Forest Ordinance bills. We’ll let you know how it all turns out!
The biggest observation we can make about this evening was how very quickly Bud wanted this meeting over. He rushed through parts of the agenda, cut off the auditor before his presentation was over, and asked Tim Goodfellow if he would go faster when presenting the sewer and water amendments. None of us much want to work this time of year, but jeeze o’flip was the heck was up with all that?
We had some shiny nice time at the beginning of the meeting. Chip Jewell received recognition for his many years of service to the Frederick County Fire Services. Students from the CTC were given a good pat on the back for a project they worked on. And, the Oakdale volleyball team received many fine congratulations for winning the state championship!
Billy abstains from voting on the agenda. No public commenters. Veteran’s Advisory Council vote is pushed back. Billy casts the sole brave vote against the budget adjustments. Then, we are off to another positive presentation from Lori Depies and the outside auditor, We learn just how financially healthy things are in our county. Take a look at the PowerPoint and see for yourself! Kirby needs to question anything good, so he starts off by saying, “I am not an accountant, OK?” Oh we know hashtag! He tries his hand at algebra by saying x represents this and x represents that, so simple math, voila!
We are not even going to attempt to parse out his point because he doesn’t really have one and he’s wrong and we are done with deciphering his nonsense! Billy jumps in with that was also my question too and how are we doing compared with our peer groups. The answer is excellent so let’s move on.
Myersville asks permission to annex some property-permission granted. Bud’s phone give us the Bad to the Bone ringtone that we’ve heard before. Wonder if whomever was calling was the reason he wanted out of there so quickly.
Quick First reading on MDX uses. The FNP reporter asked Bud about this after the meeting, so be sure to read about that here.
The bulk of the meeting was over some amendments to change the language used when putting in water and sewer lines. The predictable three were all in arms, even though it was explained to them over and over that what they were changing was how things were already done, they just wished to clarify some language. Billy kept yelling: workshop, workshop, but he couldn’t get anyone to agree. Tony wins a slight victory with some removal of words, and the first amendment was finally passed. The next four, Bud wishes to rush through, and they are all passed without incident.
No public comment at the end. Kirby wants us all to bow down to the accomplishments of the sacred Young BOCC.
Did you know that because of the Young BOCC, Myersville had to come before the council to ask for annexation rights? M.C. later disagrees with Kirby’s logic, but hey whatcha gonna do?
Everyone else has nice things to say! We are ignoring Billy’s part here because we want some semblance of sanity to remain with us for the holidays!
Have a wonderful holiday season Yokels! We love you!
FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA! Merry Happy Winter Solstice to thee! It’s the last meeting of 2017, and what a year it has been following this county council. Stay tuned, in the next week or so we’ll be publishing our top 10 stories of the year! For now, grab your agenda, turn on FCGTV, and don’t forget to take care! Shrelauter would love it if something happened to your liver and you couldn’t vote for their opponent next year.
We sure hope Kirby had some time to go through the agenda and prepare this weekend. Seeing as he was busy spreading his “freedom seeds” around:
Big deep sigh! Any hoo! We are starting off this meeting with lots of recognition and accolades. It gives us a nice warm feeling to see all the good that is done by people in our community.
Next is public comment, should there be any, budget adjustments, and approval of prior meeting’s minutes. We don’t know why this shouldn’t go smoothly, however, since we have a few people up there who like to grandstand and, we suspect, really don’t know what’s going on, there’s bound to be a hiccup here and there. If you should need something to calm your nerves, pop open a nice tall bottle of Belligerent Ass.
We always love it when Lori Depies comes to present. She so professionally handles the questions from the nincompoops, while also correcting their erroneous assumptions. In her honor, we’ll stray away from the beer theme for a moment, to crack open a bottle of our best champagne! Thanks for all you do and have to put up with Ms. Depies!
Next on the list is approval of an annexation in Myersville. The town of Myersville already voted yes, and it appears the owners of the land want this, so if anyone causes a ruckus, go ahead and slam back a Raging Bitch.
There’s a first reading on a bill on Permitted Uses in a MXD. First readings only take a moment. Then it’s off to a third reading, which means a final council vote, on the Veteran’s Advisory Council. In honor of our men and women in uniform, toast them with an Eagle Lager.
Oh, zzzzzz, a public hearing on water and sewer amendments. We know this stuff is super important, but man oh man, it’s hard to stay awake. Maybe we need to go out and find some caffeinated beer.
We end with one more chance for public comment, and then the last council member comments of 2017. If anyone decides to go on and on, or becomes oh so very rude, break out that college beer bong and fill it with some Grumpy Bear Honey Wheat.
Have a wonderful holiday season our faithful Yokels! We’ll all need to stick together next year when the county election season is in full force! There’s no way this isn’t going to be dramatic!
We had a few weeks off to recuperate, but now it’s time to get back into the thick of things! Not too much on the agenda, but there’s always opportunities for grandstanding and misinformation. Grab your agenda, tune into your local government reality show, and be careful! Billy is too preoccupied with false stories about Russian uranium to come pick you up!
If any “more of a comment, then a question” should be raised during the budget adjustments, mix yourself up a Holiday Mule. Because only a mule would be dumb enough to fall for that wordsmithing!
Tony was going to take his suggestion that FCPS allow homeschoolers participate in extracurricular activities to the BOE. Now, it’s back on the agenda for some more discussion amongst the council. If this discussion should devolve into how unfair it is that people who don’t’ even have kids pay taxes for schools (a thing that Billy has said!), mix up a whole pitcher of Pomegranate Moscow Mule.
The three very, very pro developer council members did not like the next item on the agenda. Not one little bit people! So, when the inevitable bloviating occurs, do some shots of Lay Down and Shut Up.
You are probably in pretty bad shape right now. Take a few deep breaths, lie down on a soft cushiony place, and drink some sparkling water. We still have council member comments to get through. And if Tony, Kirby, and Billy don’t pass, we could really be in for it!
PSA- If you live in the City of Frederick, PLEASE remember to vote today! Local elections matter y’all. Boy do they ever!
This evening the county council is going to have a workshop on their final legislative packet and changes to the Forest Ordinance. Billy, Kirby, and Tony have been pretty anti-tree so far, because…. developers. We’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Tonight we finally had a public commenter in the form of Friend of the Yokel (FotY) Patrick Schempp. Patrick made some really good points concerning proposed changes to the DRAAs.
Billy votes against the agenda, for the budget amendments, and abstains from the minutes. No rhyme or reason whatsoever. Kirby needs a clarification about one of the budget adjustments. Rick Harcum comes to the rescue to spell the language out for him.
There are various confirmation votes on county executive appointments. All received 7-0 votes, except for someone on the Transportation Advisory Board that Billy votes against. Wonder what that person did to him! And if they want to be our friend!
Back for public hearings at 7:00.
First public hearing is on a bill that restricts recreational facilities that are designed only to serve residents in a development, to exist only within the borders of that development. Basically, if a development has a pool that only serves the residents of that development, it must be IN the development. Billy wants to know where his aerial photo is. Mr. Horn tells him it’s available. But Billy wants to know when Mr. Horn is going to wrap it all up in pretty paper and deliver it to his front door! Because you really don’t expect Billy to do any legwork on his own, do you? Jeez!
Tony wants to know if amendments are going to be added. Because folks,Tony says the Planning Commission voted against this 7-0. Nope! It was really it 5-1-0, and he is told no. You see this bill had to come about because a development near Pinecliff had to run their water lines outside the development in to Ag land. For some reason both Billy and Kirby insist this incident has never happened in the county before. Staff want to make sure that running water lines through agricultural zones does not become a precedent just because it was allowed this one time.
Kirby says y’all are killing a fly with a sledgehammer and he’s totally against this bill. And man oh man, this guy wants to be county executive? I don’t think we are ready for over very own Ross Perot!
M.C. reminds everyone that this is not the time to be discussing amendments or changes of any kind. The point of a public hearing is to hear comment on the bill as written. The third reading is the time to discuss any changes. And man oh man, they’ve been doing this for almost three years now and she still has to remind them! Billy is rude as hell to the county lawyer when she tries to answer one of his questions by snapping, “I wasn’t talking to you!” Hard to believe he’s still single, isn’t it ladies?
Staff remarks that even though the Planning Commission voted against this bill they made no specific recommendations. Billy blurts out, ” It was so bad they didn’t even want to talk about it!” Such insight!
No one from the public felt the need to speak on this.
The second hearing was on Tony’s version of the Bussard Brothers’ bill. Once again, no one from the public was moved to attend. Ray Barnes passes out a memo with the planning commission and staff recommended changes to this bill. Billy totally hijacked this moment by asking for another aerial photo, which is then displayed on the screen. Billy recounts the tale of the owner of this woodchipping business. And then admonishes us all with these words, ” This is the American dream and we are crushing it! This is as Unamerican as it gets!”
Kirby very boringly reads off the aforementioned memo that Mr. Barnes distributed. And then to the shock all of your Lady Yokels, he quotes an email from FotY Steve McKay. But, not before Kirby makes it very clear that he does not usually agree with Mr. McKay nor is he the type of person that he would usually align himself with! However, Kirby does respect him because he shows up and he made some good points in his email. Stil, Kirby thinks this business should just be grandfathered in.
M.C. asks staff to highlight what they put in the memo and for some reason causes all kinds of hullabaloo with Tony and Billy. Tony accuses M.C. of doing just what she was admonishing him for doing during the last hearing (not at all) and Billy complains that he asks for staff to come up all the time and is told that it’s inappropriate and now he has her on record! So there! Man, these dolts. But anyhoo, Mr. Horn returns to the desk in order to discuss what staff thinks.
We are thankfully spared the drama of council member comments because Tony, Kirby and Billy all decide to pass! Thank Zeus for small mercies!
Until next time, enjoy this beautiful Fall weather.
Tonight could be a real doozy for us! The bill that Tony wrote to replace Billy’s no good, very bad one is up for a public hearing this evening. We joked when Tony introduced it, speculating if Billy would be magnanimous when the time to discuss came around, and BAAHAAHAA!!!! who the hell are we kidding? Tonight, we suggest that you choose your favorite Fall brew beer or pumpkin spiced spiked whatever and follow along. Don’t forget your trusty agenda, and remember to take care, because now that Billy is running for statewide office, there’s no way he’s taking your calls!
We begin, as always, with public comment, approval of the agenda, and budget adjustments. No matter what happens, just smile and nod and sip daintily from your drink of choice.
There’s one county executive appointment to approve, and then there’s a break until 7:00. When Billy throws his predictable fit about Bud not being about to look into his crystal ball to predict the length of the first half of the meeting, let’s just say this may be a good time to run to the liquor store for fortifications.
There are two public hearings. The first one is on recreational facilities being required to be located within the development they are meant to serve. Billy and Tony both threw fits the first time this was discussed. The second one is Tony’s wood chip bill. Just last week the Planning Commission voted against approving this bill as written. (They did suggest some amendments.) So, when things get a little cray cray, break out that beer bong from college and do whatever you need to do to feel better.
frederick local yokel 